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A surprising number of computer hackers earn over $100,000 a year

There's no question that
breaking into a computer and finding ways to get it to share its
data or become a member of your zombie computer army is a
valuable skill - a skill that can be used for good or evil.

We know that this skill pays well for those who use it for evil.
It's hard to track what the average high-end hacker earns, of
course, but just one type of that sort of thing, ransomware, is
said to be quite a lucrative business.

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Ransomware is where a hacker finds a hole in your computer's
security and uses it to install software that locks your computer
or its files, and will only unlock them once you pay a ransom.
People reported to the
FBI that they paid a total of $24 million in such scams in
2015, and that number could be higher as it only counts those
who reported the hack.

But it turns out, the good-guy hackers can also make a decent
living by participating in what's known as bug bounty programs,
according
to new research from HackerOne, a startup that orchestrates
bug bounty programs.

A bug bounty program is when a company, (or government agency or
other organization) invites hackers to break into their software
and then pays them bounties for the bugs they find. The more
serious the bug or vulnerability, the bigger the bounty.

Google earlier this week announced that it would pay $200,000 to
a hacker who finds the best bug in Android, as part of its
new "The Project Zero Prize." Second prize is
$100,000 and third is $50,000. That kind of cash isn't typical
though.

But for those that dedicate themselves to it, they can make a
nice living, or some serious moonlighting cash.

According to a survey of 617 successful hackers by HackerOne, half of them earn more than $35,000 a year on bug bounties. Nearly 11% are making over $50,000, and 6% are making more than $100,000 per year.

source

HackerOne

Successful hackers are young too. Almost all of them are under age 35.

source

HackerOne

And while most of them say that they hack for the money, and for fun, over 50% said that they also find these bugs just to help the world fight the bad guys.